Chapter 64: B
Even though Maryam wasn't good with directions, which was the reason she hadn't told her about the apartment which had most of her clothes, she was able to navigate her way through the dim light until she got to the room she had told her about. She walked inside and turned on the light before she sighed, forgetting that it wasn't just about getting her way in, what if on her way out she bumped into him?
She knew he hated the sight of her and she didn't hate him for that because she knew he ought to hate whoever called Ya Gumsu his mother for what she had been doing to him all his life. She knew he might not take it lightly with her, so immediately, Saima got to work before he was back from wherever he went to.
The bag she had came with was filled and she saw that there was still more that Maryam would need, judging from how none of them was sure about the duration she would be staying in. She was looking around the room for the sight of another bag because she wanted to do this once and for all, when the door was bumped into and when she looked up-all blood drained from her body and face, Saima saw the head of a gun pointed at her.
She screamed and immediately went to her knees while tears immediately washed down her face, "It's me, Gimbiya Saima, please don't shoot. I'm your sister, Yarima Na'im." She was crying and her entire body was shaking with fright. She knew this wasn't the first time she had seen a gun, but this was certainly the first time one was aimed at the crown of her head and there was all intentions and reasons to pull the trigger.
Her eyes were clenched shut as she waited for the bullet to get into her head and she knew if he killed her, Umma would make sure he would be killed too because Saima knew, even though it wouldn't be because she had died, it would be because she wanted to bring an end to him at all cost. And she had finally found a befitting reason. "You wouldn't shoot me, right?" She asked with a trembling voice when silence had prevailed in the room and he was still yet to shoot at her.
After she had opened her eyes and waited until she was sure the remaining calmness she had had been restored to her body, Saima looked up at the figure that loomed over her. "You..." She began and her next words became guttural. "Aren't you the soldier friend of Yarima?" She asked, because she could remember seeing them once or twice together and countless times in Na'im's car when they drove into the palace.
"Yes, I am. And I'm going to shoot right at you if you don't tell me what these clothes are for." He had recognized her at the first glance, he would never forget this face. Even though she had grown up and she was no longer the little girl that clung onto Na'im and pleaded him with her eyes to take a picture of them, she was still the same. Those eyes were still the same; warm, loving and innocent.
But he wasn't going to show her any of that, never in his entire life. "Maryam asked me..." She quickly clasped her lips shut and when Hafiz brought the gun right above her head and made a guttural sound, Saima broke into tears. "You'll kill me if I don't tell you. But all Alan Gubro will do is punish me, not even severely, if I let out his secret."
"That's enough to have you go on with what I've asked, Princess." He said through gritted teeth, even though in his mind, Hafiz was marveling about how much of a beauty she had turned into. He watched the way she had trembled at the sound of his voice and began to nod her head vehemently while more tears gushed down to her cheeks.
"Where is Yarima Na'im? You have to promise me that you wouldn't tell him what I'm about to tell you, please. He can't know, please?" She begged with a weak voice that surprisingly touched his heart and he sighed before he nodded his head.
He went to the door and locked it before he walked back to where she was still kneeling on the floor and he motioned for her to stand up. Which she quickly did. "Get there and sit down, a princess shouldn't be seen kneeling on the floor, should she?"
The way his voice had sounded made her smile even though she was trembling in fear, "Not if she's at a gun point." Saima waited until she sat down before she began, "Alan Gubro took her to our chamber. " Hafiz quickly cut her off because he wanted to know which chamber that was.
"Where? And which among his wives is your mother?" He knew not even her name for him to know the woman that bore her.
"Ya Gumsu," Saima said a bit reluctantly, because she knew if he indeed was the closest friend of Na'im, then he would hate her too and be wary of trusting her. "But this is meant to be a secret please, you shouldn't disclose it to him. She's taken to my room and she needs clothes, which I snuck in to take for her. Plain and simple."
"You call that plain and simple? You were looking like a thief. I would've made the mistake of shooting you. Next time if you need something for her, contact me." She nodded her head almost immediately and was reluctant before she stood to her feet. She hadn't seen the detest she had always seen on the faces of other people for her, whom chose to blame her for her mother's mistake.
He stared at her like he didn't care who she was born from, so long as she was Na'im's sister, it was fine. "Can I leave then?" She asked, having in mind that if Maryam needed more clothes, she may find him and he would find a way of getting them to her.
"What was it that you were looking for before I came in?" He was taking a step towards her and she shook with the fear of the unknown.
"I was looking to see if I could get another bag to stuff more of her belongings inside. But since you're here, I guess when the need arises, we can always look for you." Saima didn't wait for him to answer when she rushed out of the door and in a breath, she had ran out of the chamber and when she was sure she was safe, she began to laugh at her expenditure.
She met Maryam where she had left her and smiled at her before she lifted the bag, "Here, Our Future Queen, everything you might need is stuffed inside." Maryam grinned at her, the name-even though weird to her ears- sounded so cool that she liked it and the triumphant smile she had seen on Saima's face was enough to show her that they had won.
?
Na'im had been seated on the floor for almost an hour now. Since when they came out of the mosque and he was summoned by Alan Gubro, he hadn't been here and he was still waiting. He was famished, he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast but he dared not move from his position even if Alan Gubro had decided to keep him there for the whole night.
Na'im sighed and when he heard the footsteps of his father-now, preferably to refer to him as The King-he straightened up and keep up a stoic expression. It had been three days since he had last seen him, which was the day Maryam had been taken away from him. He knew Alan Gubro must've expected some rebellion which Na'im had planned so well that it would shook everyone.
He sat down and Na'im offered his royal greetings. But unlike how he used to tell him that there was no use to stand in the ceremony if they were alone, today he didn't, and Na'im knew he was there as a King and not a father. "You summoned me, Alan Gubro," he pointed out, because he had been seated there for long to join him in the silence game he was about to play.
"Yes, and it's evident at how prepared you've come knowing exactly what you've done and what you want out of this. I won't say you've won until they come and we talk things out ourselves and you two as well, but I'd like to tell you that if you dared provoke me through your marriage with Nafisa, I can assure you that you won't be able to recognize your father in me anymore."
Areef had done what he had asked him to do then, since Alan Gubro had spoken about Nafisa and obviously her father maybe along with her mother coming to the palace. He had asked him to speak to the sister about Maryam and tell her how much he was in love with her, they knew the news will reach her parents and none of them will agree with that unless he agreed to something they would want-alongside that of Alan Gubro, and Na'im was ever ready to turn over his royal thobe for her. He would be glad to live as a soldier all his life.
"Go and get ready, we're having a family dinner with her family. And I dare you, Yarima, to do something that will stop this wedding from holding in a matter of a week." Alan Gubro was already on his feet after he had said those words and Na'im could only stared at his retreating back. He was in pain about what was going on between them because his father had always been his first and forever love. But he wasn't going to abandon her either, and no, he wasn't going to marry Nafisa no matter what that would cost him.
Na'im had never imagined that it would really happen until he saw himself staring back at Nafisa's bulgy eyes, which meant she had cried to her satisfaction before she was dragged there by her parents. He took his eyes off her after the first glance, not willing to stare at her for her to think that she would have a chance at getting sympathy from him. The days where he would feel guilty for doing what he did to her had passed, and now it would be survival of the fittest.
Na'im was glad that it was Ya Girema that had joined them on the table and not Ya Gumsu, if she had been the one, then he didn't know what he would have done even before the dinner started. He knew maybe she had excused herself because she wanted to go and take care of Sadeeq. Which was so calming, he would have been here too, Na'im knew.
The dinner was silenced by the clatter of their spoons on the plates even though it was evident that both families were just nibbling on their foods and they couldn't wait to finish the meal and talk about the things that have gathered them there. It took longer than he would have survived, but he managed until the dinner was over and they all walked back to the living room.
He had slackened behind and noticed Ya Girema joining his pace until it left just the two of them walking back alone. "Yarima," she called out his name as softly as she always did and when Na'im stared into her eyes, he saw nothing but love. She had never had a child, thus the reason for her unmeasurable pain and how much she had had to endure in the royal palace. But she loved Na'im like her own, even though he hardly visited her like any good child would.
"Ya Girema, I didn't get the chance to offer my greetings."
She quickly waved her hand dismissively at him and smiled, "We have little time for this now. Listen, do you want this marriage to hold or not? I'd be given a chance to speak with the mother privately, so I'll know the words to utter."